Half to frank e



F. A. LANE. ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

Patented Dec. 24, 1889.

N. PEI'EHS, Pholu-Lilhogmuhun Wr-IhIr-giur, D4 [3.

{UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIC A. LANE, OF NEIV I-IAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO FRANK E. MORGAN, OF SAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC-CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 417,926, dated December 24, 1889.

I Application filed April 29, 1889. Serial No. 399,033. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERIC A. LANE, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Electric-Circuit Controllers; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

Figure 1, a face view of the apparatus, illustrating the circuits and operation; Fig. 2, a top view of the local-station mechanism represented in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detached View of sent, and the signal, as a bell at a distant the ratchet-lever and its contacts, enlarged,

for the better illustration of the operation;

Figs. 4. and 5, modifications.

This invention relates to an improvement in devices for limiting or controlling the time for which an electric circuit may be held broken or closed, and is applicable to signaling devices and other purposes, as will more fully hereinafter appear.

For convenience I shall describe the invention as applied for calls or signals. In the more general construction of such call-signaling apparatus contacts are provided at a given point from whence the signal is to be point, is brought into circuit by these contacts, and so that the bell will be sounded during the time which these contacts are held together as, for illustration, in a call-bell, a button is provided at the point from whence the call is to be sounded. The bell at a disthe train stands at that point the signal will sound.

The object of my inventioh is to positively control an electric circuit, so that its time of operation shall be automatically limited to a predetermined extentand independent of the device by which the circuit was set into operation; and the invention consists, principally, in a local electric circuit with amagnet and a circuit-breaker in said circuit, the said breaker being at the point from which the control is to be produced; a second circuit which is to be controlled, but independent of the said local circuit, the magnet of the local circuit having an armature-lever with a clockwork, and mechanism between said clockwork and said armature-lever whereby the said clock-work maybe set into operation for a predetermined length of time; a circuit breaker in said second circuit, and mechanism between the said clock-work and said second circuit-breaker whereby the said second circuit-breaker may be operated by the said clockwork and holdsaid circuit opened or closed, as the case may be, for a predetermined length of time, as more fully hereinafter described.

In the illustration, A represents a board upon which the mechanism at the station from which the signal is to be sent is arranged.

B represents them agnet, arranged upon the board in the usual manner and provided with an armature-lever C, which is brought into action by the closing of the circuit. The two contacts a 12, forming a circuit-breaker, are arranged at some convenient where they may be mechanically brought together or automatically separated, these contacts here represented as a common button. The circuit is made through the battery, the magnet, and two said contacts, as represented,and so that by bringing the contacts together the armature-lever will be drawn to its magnet, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1.

D represents the clock-work, which is provided with a common escapementwheel E, from which a pendulum F extends. On one of the arbors G of this clock-work a ratchetwheel H is fixed. On this arbor G a lever I is hung so as to swing in a plane at right angles to the axis of the arbor G. One arm of this lever is provided with a suitable weight J, or known equivalent therefor, and the other arm extends toward the magnet and into the path of the free end of the armature-lever C. The lever I is provided with a spring-pawl'K,

adapted to work in the teeth of the ratchet G" in one direction, but escape therefrom in the opposite direction. Normally, the magnet or local circuit being open, the armature-lever C stands away from the poles of the magnet, and thecorrespondingarm of the lever I rests against the armature-lever, as represented in Fig. l but if the magnet-circuit be closed, as.

by bringing the contacts a 1) together, the armaturelever C is drawn to its poles and imparts a corresponding movement to the lever 1 of the clock-work, as also indicated in broken lines. I11 this movement of the lever I the pawl escapes the teeth of the ratchetwheel I-I until themovement of the lever is completed. Then it engages the teethof the 'atchet, and so that whenthe magnet-circuit is broken, as by the separation of the contacts a'lgthe armature-lever O will rise or move clockqvork is prepared for operation, but will be heldin-suspense so'long as the magnetcircuit remains closed.

free to-operate for a predetermined length of time, that time being from the start of the OlOQkfWOl'li until thelever of the clock-work shall have returned" into contact with the armature-lever O.

' The clock-Work is adapted to close the circuit with the distant-si gnalin g device. As here represented, that signaling device is a bell mechanism L, such as commonly used. for electric signaling-bells. (Not necessary to be illustrated or described.)

A stationary contact (Z is arranged upon or near the clock-work, from which a wire 6 runs to the distant-signaling device, as L. This contact (Z is insulated from the clock-work, and from the clockovork a secondwire f runs through thebattery to the signal, thus bringing the clock-work and the signaling device into electric circuit independentof the local circu it. The lever I carries a contact g, which is the termination of a spring-arm 72., extending from the lever I. (Shown enlarged in Fig. 3.) The back of the contact (1 is toward the contact g, but the back insulated, as represented in Fig. 3, so that should the contact g strike the said back the circuit will not be closed. As the Upon the breaking. of this magnetcircuit the clock-work will be.

lever I rises under the action of the armaturelever O, as beforedescribed, and as indicated in broken lines, Fig.3, the contact g rises, passes above the contact d into a position as seen in broken lines, Fig. 3, and so that as the lever I returns the contact Q will pass down over the contact (I and make actual contact therewith, and during the time which the contact g occupies in passing over the contact (Z the signal-circuit will be closed and the signal operate; but as the lever I completes its downward movement the contact g escapes from the contact (1 and returns to its normal'position, breaking that signal-circuit.

As before described, the lever I will remain in the up position so long as the local or magnet circuit is closed; but instantly upon the breaking of that circuit, so as to release the armature-lever C, the clock-work commences its operation and brings the contactsg and (1 together, so was to close-the signal-circuit and sound that s'ignal, which soundingwill continue so long as the contact 9 .isi'n engagement with the contact (Z. The time of sounding the signal therefore depends upon the length of the contact-surfaces (Z and g, and this may be greater or less, according to the length of signal required.

The breaker for the signal-circuit may be otherwise arranged-say as represented in Fig. 4, in which a wheel like 'N is arranged upon one of the arbors of the clock-work, a portion of the periphery of which is insulated, as at i. The contact d in'the form of a brush is arranged to bear upon the periphery of the wheel N, and so that normally itstands against the insulated portion of-theperiphery;'but as the wheel'revolves the metallic surface of the wheel comes into contact-with the brush and closes the-circuit during the time which the wheel should .presentlsuch metallic contact to the contact (Zf The extent of contact-may be varied according .to Killeumstanccs This illustration will'be sufficient to indicate that the invention is 'notlto be limited to any particular construction of circuit-breaker. v

The illustration -which I have made of closing the local circuit-will be sufii'cient to the understanding of the invention. The device-for closing this circuit will-vary according tocircumstances, as in the use of railroads,- to indicate the position of a' train, the localjcircuits maybe automatically closed by the train itself in the usual and .wellknown manner of closing a circuit by means of a moving train.

In illustrating the signaling circuit I have represented the clock-work as being'directly in the'circuit, and this I prefer; but it is not essential to the invention that the signaling or clock-work circuit should. be made through the clock-work itself, as it may be made without placing the clock-work directly in such circuit, as seen in Fig. 5, in which the circuit-breaker is represented. .as consisting of two contacts (Z and Z, arranged distant from.

IIO

each other and presenting a length of face toward each other corresponding to the length of signal required, and the spring-arm h, carrying the contact g, as before, may pass up over the back of the contact Z, as before, and return between the two contacts Z d, as indicatedin Fig. 5, the metallic end g of the arm tion will be understood without further illustration or description.- The invention is therefore not to be understood as limited to open circuits.

I have described the invention as applied to signaling or calling purposes. This will be sufficient to enable others skilled in the art to apply the invention to the controlling of a circuit for other purposes where it is desirable that an electric circuit should be setinto operation, as occasion may require, and that operation continue for a predetermined length of time independent of the device or devices by which the circuit was so set into operation.

I claim- 1. The combination of a magnet, its armature-lever, an electric. circuit through said magnet, a circuit-breaker arranged in said magnet-circuit, a clock-work, one of its arbors provided with a toothed ratchet, a lever hung upon the said arbor carrying a pawl adapted to engage said ratchet, the said ratchet-lever extending into the path of the said armature-lever, and whereby undenthe movement of the armature-lever a vibratory movement will be imparted to said ratch'etlever, a power applied to said ratchetlever in opposition to the said armature-lever, a second circuit through said clock-Work independent of the said first circuit, a circuit-breakerin said second circuit and adapted to be operated by the said clock-work, with one or more signaling devices in said second circuit, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a magnet, its armature-lever, an electric circuit through said magnet, a local-circuit breaker in said magnet circuit, a clock work having a ratchet upon one of its arbors, a lever carrying a pawl adapted to engage the said ratchet in one direction, but escape therefrom in the opposite direction, the said ratchetlever adapted to engage with the armaturelever, and whereby said clock-work may be set into operation fora predetermined length of time, a stationary contact, as d, a springarm, as h, extending from said ratchet-lever and carrying .a second contact 9, a second electric circuit through said clock-work, the

said contacts forming a circuit-breaker for said second circuit, with one or more signal devices in said second circuit, substantially 

